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ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK - Paul Krekorian, Council President: Thank you. We will take public comment on item number 18, is that right? Madame Clerk, that’s the only item available for public comment on the special?
Sharon Gin, Deputy City Cler:k: No, sir, for the special meeting, there are two items, item 17 is an item for which a public hearing has been held, 18 is an item for which a public hearing has not been held. Ten votes are required for consideration. And since both of these items are on the special meeting, then public comment can be taken on those special items, however, there is no general public comment in the special meeting.
[off-camera dialogue]
Paul Krekorian, Council President: Okay, very good, items 17 and 18 are open for comment on the special meeting. I’m going to call some names.
Several speakers spoke. One noted that this body appears to be prioritizing customer service for developers by expediting low-impact development.
Paul Krekorian, Council President: Sit down silently… Let’s go to the phone.
Smart Speaker: Yeah, it’s Eric Preven, and I’d like to speak on both items I’m curious why you lowered my hand in the previous meeting.
Tania Ysaguirre, Deputy City Attorney: Speaker, your time is running.
Smart Speaker: OK, so you are confirming that you did that.? OK. That’s very very naughty, Tania and Mr. Krekorian but we’ll get to the items.
Paul Krekorian, Council President: Speak to the agenda.
Smart Speaker: Yeah, you be silent while I speak on low-impact development and stormwater approval, for the construction of housing during which time… the council will remain silent. Thank you. Bureau of Sanitation…like a little pushing and shoving, they did a great job, they do a great job. We love ‘em, so shout out to the BOS for all the pushing and shoving and when push came to shove… they agreed to move the big equipment for the tiny homes.
Low-impact development is a very important area. And we were not surprised to see old Krekorian perturbed that the item would be open for comment. He forgot, that all items on a special meeting agenda have to be open for comment. It’s an important dense item that seems to give the Bureau of Engineering extraordinary power. There appears to be no effort to make the public aware by calling a special meeting the weekend before the Super Bowl. Many of the rich hillside activists are in Las Vegas.
Tania Ysaguirre, Deputy City Attorney: Speaker you should move on to your next item.
Smart Speaker: Well, I haven’t finished my point about how BOE should not be doing anything because of the corruption.
Paul Krekorian, Council President: Alright, last warning.
Smart Speaker: Fine, I’ll go on to eighteen. Yeah, and no more warnings. Please sit silently during the oceanside on Flower Street remarks and related actions. We know what this is. Once again BOE in there, everybody remembers Neil Drucker and the entire Prop K is not for Krekorian's corrupt shove through re: the Studio City Rec Center. During this time, despite massive local disapproval, money was sought and secured, through Brad Sherman — and now co-complicitor, Nithya Raman.
Tania Ysaguirre, Deputy City Attorney: Next caller, please.
Katherine Pease: Good afternoon Councilmember Krekorian and council members my name is Katherine Peas and I am the Director of Science and Policy at Heal The Bay. I am speaking today on behalf of NRDC and Waterkeeper as well.
We are extremely discouraged that the city is proposing to weaken the LID ordinance, today our waterways remain polluted and the LID implementation is a critical tool for preventing pollution and complying with the Clean Water Act. We recognize that the city has to do all it can to expedite new housing, the solution should be to appropriately fund our city departments through staffing and rate increases. Not by backsliding environmental protections. The result will be negative impacts on communities, public health, and ecosystems from continued poor water quality. LID must apply to smaller projects. They make up the vast majority of developments that will now be unregulated. There are still other options before us today. At a minimum we urge you to narrow the exemption from 2500 to 1000 square feet or specifically exempt ADUs… and a new exemption must be temporary and limited to one year. We look forward to the results of the fee study—
Cut her off!
Traci Park basking in the joy of Mcosker's kind words that came after Katherine Pease's strong comments.
Paul Krekorian, Council President: Thank you, your time has expired.
Speaker Rob Quan: Rob Quan, I’d like to speak on items 17 and 18.
Tania Ysaguirre, Deputy City Attorney: You’ll have two minutes.
Speaker Rob Quan: Thank you, and I want to give props to the City Clerk for ensuring that we followed the law and had comment on item 17, against Paul Krekorian’s wishes. Did you forget about Eric Preven’s lawsuit, that forced you to do that?
Paul Krekorian, Council President: Speak to the agenda items Mr. Quan.
Speaker Rob Quan: You were on the budget committee, when we settled that.
Smart Speaker: We didn’t settle it, I won.
A Great Heart For the Ocean:
Traci Park Councilmember (CD11): For me personally, representing our world-famous beach communities on the west side is the honor of a lifetime. When I see in real-time the damage that human activity is causing to our beaches, our wildlife, and our gorgeous Santa Monica Bay, it just absolutely breaks my heart."
She said she walked the beach Tuesday morning. "When untreated sewage and trash and debris and untreated chemicals end up in the ocean it makes our dolphins, our seals, and our sea lions sick."
Smart Speaker: And let's not forget the mom and pops.
She went on, "When garbage like cigarette butts and needles and broken glass wash ashore it makes our beaches unsafe for our community. Then she thanked the Venice Surfing Association, "I was out with them this morning cleaning up our beaches. My team and council member Mcosker’s team put together a short video."
Councilmember Park took off her glasses for the cutaway, following the video wherein it was quietly revealed that 1,000,000 gallons of sewage leaked through to Cabrillo beach. It was later revised to 8,000,000 gallons.
Park looked concerned, but radiant, as Mcosker, said, “Thank you, Councilmember Park, for our partnership. You have a great heart for the ocean.”
Smart Speaker: A great heart for the ocean? rufkm, where was she when Katherine Pease was 'splaining it?
Mcosker said, "We are only as strong as the weakest link of this system."
Smart Speaker: This is appalling.
Tomorrow we will be partnering (during election time) with Heal the Bay, Friends of the Jungle, and Venice Surfing Association. Friends of Ballona Wetlands, The Neighborhood Council of Westchester-Play Del Rey, The LAX Coastal Chamber, and LMU to conduct a huge beach cleanup in Playa del Rey. Thank you.
Remember Heal The Bay is where David Weil, the Chief Financial Officer of Harvard-Westlake School calls himself a board member. The Director of Marketing and Communications at Heal The Bay is city haller, Alison Simard, who joined Heal the Bay in December 2022 after a stint as Comms hack and point person on wildlife policy and legislation for Los Angeles Councilmember Paul Koretz (CD5) dba Pepita Pig, some antagonists lovingly referred to him that way.
After the recent 8 million Gallon Sewage Spill in the Dominguez Channel, and California State of emergency brought on by recent storms, Cabrillo Beach needs more love than ever! Join them on Saturday, February 17, 2024, for a crucial Nothin’ But Sand beach cleanup.
Land Sharks:
I noted Lindsey P. Horvath was outside with the children, a good look for her. She was celebrating the establishment of an outside basketball court at El Cariso Park, one of the county parks with a golf course managed by American Golf. This has nothing to do with that, but if you don’t remember the private equity story, here’s a link to the coverage by the New York Times.
The Los Angeles Times didn’t want to go there for the follow-up. Call it an incomplete pass.
The county has selective attention syndrome but 7000 complaints and 100 violations at Chiquita landfill and a tiny home village of mariachis in Boyle Heights.
And we have fines. Plenty of fines.
Alleging more than a year of foot-dragging by Los Angeles officials, lawyers for a group of businesses and residents are asking federal judge Carter to fine the city nearly $6.4 million over its failure to live up to a nearly 2-year-old settlement agreement to clean up homeless camps.
Attorneys said, “The citizens of Los Angeles lost a year of accountability to the City’s noncompliance and obstructive conduct.”
The L.A. Alliance filed their motion for sanctions. They ask for $100,000 per week for the 447-day period. Bob Blumenfield head of the budget committee, and CD3, said he is optimistic that the mismatch between Inside Safe and the L.A. Alliance settlement will be worked out.
City Hall is in the rearview mirror.
Smart Speaker: Glad you're relaxed.
Exciting coverage of 26 voicemails of rage from Tom Girardi left for Matt Hamilton, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter in March 2021 has surfaced. In one voicemail, Mr. Girardi who was honored by Krekorian noted, “I’ve been a pal of that newspaper for 100 years.”
Smart Speaker: Would love some reporting on that, if you're looking for things to investigate.
Nithya Raman's official email jumping into the Super Bowl mix (during election time, all perfectly legal).
And our beloved LA Times produced a beautiful segment about glorious trees around the city. By choosing ten magnificent beauties of the community, the mind quickly began racing.... How can the paper not cover the ongoing attack on trees in Studio City?
Bill Nye "the science guy" does not make shit up.
The answer is part of a broader effort to neutralize dissenting voices.
In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s India, where conservatives cast liberal universities as dangerous dens of “anti-india” ideas and campuses are characterized as hubs of "sex and drugs,” there is a lesson.
Keep your mouth shut.
Ambassador Eric Garcetti, the former Mayor of Los Angeles told ANI about some recent deaths of students in the U.S., “Our heart is always touched when any tragedy, whether it is a life taken by somebody or any violence - no matter who they are. We are very committed to making sure that Indians know that the United States is a wonderful place to study and to be safe. We have more Indians studying in the US than any country in the world.”
Yes, but not the right time to brag about enrollment numbers, sir. Later.
The phrasing "sex and drugs" brought to mind, Smoke N' Scan, a live show hosted by Damon Heller. Damon shares live/replays of police chases, protests, wildfires and other disasters including city council meetings.
It's a principle of having everyone reacting to one screen like the Super Bowl. It creates a sense of community.
Caution, sometimes that's a foul-mouthed community. But it can be funny.
One articulate speaker who identifies as Brock Landers, Private Investigator, opened with an apology. He said, he had not meant to offend the council president, when he referred to his mouth as a “cock holster.” The screens lit up!
Smart Speaker: He said, dirty cock holster, I believe.
Katy Yaroslavsky has also been striving for the 'all in one place' model. She applauded the Emergency Operations Center EOC and said: “I will note that the fact that you have the EOC still activated post-storm has been really helpful for our constituents and our team because you’re all in one place, and you can talk to each other. That’s a really helpful model, and I’m sure we can learn from it in the non-emergency context, too.”
Academy Award® Nominee: Documentary Feature Film
“20 Days in Mariupol” draws on Chernov’s daily news dispatches and personal footage of his own country at war. The result is a raw and haunting account of a journalist risking his life to share the truth of the conflict with the world.
"20 Days in Mariupol" is a FRONTLINE production with The Associated Press.
The director, cinematographer and writer is Mstyslav Chernov. The field producer is Vasilisa Stepanenko. The still photographer is Evgeniy Maloletka. The editor is Michelle Mizner. The composer is Jordan Dykstra. The producers are Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson-Rath (FRONTLINE’s editor-in-chief and executive producer) and Derl McCrudden (AP’s vice president of news and head of global news production).
(Eric Preven is a longtime community activist and is a contributor to CityWatch. The opinions are of Mr. Preven and not necessarily those of CityWatchLA.com.)
